Aca Replacement

[46Driver]

Ah, the crux of the problem. Regionals and the military have historically been apprenticeship positions for pilots. To view them as anything other than steppingstones to the majors is foolhardy.
The current upgrade stagnation at ACA has nothing to do with UAL; it is industrywide. You'll have to sit in your right seat a bit longer than you planned; I'm furloughed. No big deal; that's all part of the industry. Upgrades will (would) return at ACA when the majors start hiring again and ACA's captains move on to the major airlines.
If you're pinning your career on Independence, I'd highly suggest that you work hard on that nonflying backup. Otherwise, just view ACA as the steppingstone that it has always been.

UKRidge, UAL will not be abandoning its Dulles hub. Just wishful thinking on the part of a few. Thanks for the report on the upguaging of equipment. It bodes well for the future; I imagine that UAL will be upguaging and increasing frequency on multiple routes.

Many of us would prefer to stay at a LCC than go to a major. Heresy you say? For some of us, quality of life (aka, seniority, location, and job security) is more important than pay. I don't think you will see a lot of people leaving AirTran, JetBlue, Southwest, etc - if ACA becomes successful, I don't think you will see many of us leave either. There is also the age factor - not important for some of the young guys but for others, it is crucial. I wanted to be in and out of a regional within 6 years, ain't gonna happen, BUT, ACA growing into a LCC is better than I could have hoped for.

Also, ACA was supposed to get over 120 CRJ's for UAL, when UAL decided to outsource to MESA, there went all of our upgrades. Oh well, that's life.

Finally, just because I believe that UAL will eventually exit the East Coast doesn't mean that I want it to happen. (and I didn't originate that idea - it was being bantered around by analysts) If UAL left a void, JetBlue and AirTran would be certain to fill it. I would rather take my chances fighting a legacy carrier in Dulles than two growing LCC's.

Don't worry about my backup plan. First masters will be completed this quarter and then starting the second (ya gotta love the GI Bill....) with some Naval War College to fill out the resume. And as BusDrive said earlier, I'm trying to find a billet that will get me a TS, they are quite beneficial. As I don't like flying enough to start over at the bottom; the next job will be one where I come home everynight.

 

[2shrtdks]

I love when a United guy gives someone career advice. I bet there are a few former United pilots applying at Independence Air. Pilots retiring from Southwest and Alaska look like geniuses now, though they started at very small and shady airlines. A pilot at United quit about a year before 911 and started at Alaska. People thought he was crazy. They don’t say that anymore. Time will tell.

 

[magsau]

UKRIDGE,

Wanted to thank you for your positive feedback on UAL for quite sometime. You give a fair assesment of the UAL operation and I hope we live up to your expectations and if possible surpass them on occasion.

I spend alot of time in the UK on layovers and get an appreciation for the aviation centered citizens. There is probably not a country in the world that has such informed travelers.

Thanks and hope to have you in the Friendly Skies again soon.

 

[iflyjetz]

I bet there are a few former United pilots applying at Independence Air.

Highly unlikely for a couple of reasons.
1) ACA has pilots on furlough.
2) UAL has a program where furloughed pilots can fly at Mesa and Skywest at second year wages. There haven't been many takers so even pilots furloughed Mar 02 (last I checked) have been offered positions there. There are approximately 600 furloughed in Oct 01, but I would imagine jobs will be offered to any UAL furloughee desiring a job at one of those airlines by the end of 04.

As for using this snapshot in time to determine which pilots were geniuses based on their decision to take a job with airline x, it is irrelevent to me. At any given time, the snapshot changes. I'm perfectly content riding out my furlough at UAL. They'll be around when I retire at age 60. There are other carriers where I don't have that level of confidence.

As for anyone currently retiring at your airline, Alaska, it is unlikely that they were around at the beginning of the company (1932). By 1934, they were the largest airline in Alaska, according to your website's history. Hardly an airline that would be deemed shady. For the last 15 years, at a minimum (that's as long as I've followed airline hiring practices), Alaska has had a reputation of being one of the toughest airlines for pilot interviews. They have a lengthy screening process; I've known quite a few pilots who have been interviewed there. It's been a roll of the dice as to who gets hired; one small discrepency and they're toast. How did someone with a gargantuan inferiority complex such as yourself slip through the cracks?

 

[2shrtdks]

Iflyjetz (do you?)

Thank you for you excellent analysis on my inferiority. You must have used the same excellent analysis choosing the airline that you are now on furlough. For many on furlough at United, the airline was loosing a billion dollars and year, and had just attempted to buy US air when they were hired.

Sincerely though I hope you and any qualified United pilot on furlough return to work or find the job of your dreams in the near future. I was only communicating to those at ACA that none of us know the future. If you did you wouldn’t be sitting where you are. I thankfully fell through the cracks. I only hope Alaska will be around when I retire.

 

[iflyjetz]

Iflyjetz (do you?)

Thank you for you excellent analysis on my inferiority. You must have used the same excellent analysis choosing the airline that you are now on furlough. For many on furlough at United, the airline was loosing a billion dollars and year, and had just attempted to buy US air when they were hired.

Sincerely though I hope you and any qualified United pilot on furlough return to work or find the job of your dreams in the near future. I was only communicating to those at ACA that none of us know the future. If you did you wouldn’t be sitting where you are. I thankfully fell through the cracks. I only hope Alaska will be around when I retire.

Yes.

No problem, amigo. Hopefully you can put this knowledge to good use.

Incorrect again ... UAL was profitable (I'll assume that you meant 'losing;' 'loosing' is not a word) and had not made a tender offer for USAirways when I was hired.

Those of us on furlough at UAL that choose to will, IMO, return sooner than most 'pundits' expect.

As for ACA/Independence, a tad bit of research will tell you that there aren't many post-deregulation airline startups that survive past 5 years. The number of post-deregulation startups to survive past 10 years can be counted on your hands.
The motto for any airline startup should be: 'Veni, Vidi, volo in domum redire.'

As for Alaska's fate ... it is unlikely that they will go out of business. However, it only takes a couple of bad management decisions in the airline industry.

 

[Bear96]

Those of us on furlough at UAL that choose to will, IMO, return sooner than most 'pundits' expect.

True enough.

UA just announced another recall of some F/As who are (were) on voluntary furlough.

 

[funguy2]

Am I crazy, or can UAL and ACA (Independent) coexist at IAD?

I seem to think that UAL will stay at IAD, and provide the long haul, transcon, and int'l flights they currently do. However, with the exception of BOS and Florida, the UAL mainline north-south presence at IAD does not exist now. It would seem to me that after losing ACA, UAL could replace certain strategic markets from IAD with mainline or a different Express carrier, like BOS, BDL, DTW, ATL, for example, and just operate a large focus city.

Meanwhile ACA can operate to the SYR's and CAE's and whatnot without much harm to UAL. In fact UAL would still be in the market for pax from these areas to almost all the places mainline flies from IAD by routing the traffic over ORD. For example, SYR-LAX, LHR, etc would still be served via ORD.

While I think UAL would prefer to have all the ACA feed, and prefer not to have an additional LCC in the market, I think UAL can live at IAD with ACA.

 

[2shrtdks]

Iflyjetz

Loosing is a word, but thank you for the correction amiga, I did mean losing. I could also use my hands to count major airlines that have liquidated. ACA has a good cash position in an established market where their major competitor has been weak for some years to the point of being in bankruptcy. I completely agree with you about a few bad management decisions leading to a bankrupt airline. You must have been hired in early 2000 if United was still profitable. Do we really need to relive the management decisions United made in 1999, 2000 and earlier that lead to the fall that any potential employee or analyst may have noticed? To be fair some may see some mistakes Alaska management, and labor, may have made its last couple of years that could spell trouble.

 

[iflyjetz]

Loosing is a word

OK, I'll bite. Use it in a grammatically correct sentence.

As for startups that have liquidated, I'd need to use my hands & feet, your hands & feet and we'd still need several more people with all of their digits to count all of the startups that no longer exist.

As for problems at UAL, I think that most would trace them directly to JimmyG's stewardship.

 

[ACrazy8]

Main Entry: [2]loose
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): loosed; loos·ing
Date: 13th century
transitive senses
1 a : to let loose : RELEASE b : to free from restraint
2 : to make loose : UNTIE <loose a knot>
3 : to cast loose : DETACH
4 : to let fly : DISCHARGE
5 : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : RELAX
intransitive senses
: to let fly a missile (as an arrow) : FIRE

 

[iflyjetz]

Main Entry: [2]loose
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): loosed; loos·ing
Date: 13th century
transitive senses
1 a : to let loose : RELEASE b : to free from restraint
2 : to make loose : UNTIE <loose a knot>
3 : to cast loose : DETACH
4 : to let fly : DISCHARGE
5 : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : RELAX
intransitive senses
: to let fly a missile (as an arrow) : FIRE

Um, RTFI. Grammatically correct sentence, please. I'm not interested in ebonics or some obscure Old English quote from the days of yore.

 

[2shrtdks]

Just look it up on Merriam-Webster online. That's a dictionary. Where you find words. Where I should have consulted before I misspelled. I'm sorry.

 

[iflyjetz]

Just look it up on Merriam-Webster online. That's a dictionary. Where you find words. Where I should have consulted before I misspelled. I'm sorry.

Again, RTFI. Use it in a sentence.
I saw Merriam Webster's entry. There are a lot of words listed that are no longer used in daily lexicon. 'Loosening' would have been the logical word to choose. Just as 'loosened' would be more logical than 'loosed.'
Since the entry states the origin being 13th century, I would wager that the last time those words were uttered dates back to Chaucer and Shakespeare. Hence the reason why I would like to see ye (that's ALSO a word in Merriam Webster, see below) use 'loosing' in a grammatically correct sentence. Is that too difficult a task for ye to manage?

Here's ye:
Main Entry: 1ye
Pronunciation: 'yE
Function: pronoun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gE; akin to Old High German ir you -- more at YOU
Date: before 12th century
: YOU 1 -- used orig. only as a plural pronoun of the second person in the subjective case and now used especially in ecclesiastical or literary language and in various English dialects

Main Entry: 2ye
Pronunciation: yE, y&; orig same as 1THE
Function: definite article
Etymology: alteration of Middle English þe the, from Old English þE; from the use of the letter y by printers and scribes of late Middle English to represent þ (th) of earlier manuscripts
Date: 1551
archaic : THE <Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe

 

[2shrtdks]

I'm loosing my mind with you Iflyjetz. I hope you get back to work soon. Look it up.